The Chief Economists’ Outlook (September 2025), published by the World Economic Forum, provides an in-depth assessment of the global economy at a time of profound uncertainty. Based on a survey of leading economists from business, policy and academia, the report highlights both the persistence of short-term shocks and the acceleration of long-term structural change. The overall […]

Whistleblowing is one of the most consequential pressure valves in corporate governance, and a new peer reviewed article shows that what happens inside the audit committee can determine whether concerns are resolved internally or pushed outside the firm. In Gladys Lee’s “Audit committee financial expertise, equity compensation and employee whistleblowing”, the author examines how the […]

In the ACFE Insights article “Catching What Prevention Misses: The Case for Detective Controls” by Min Peng, the central message is clear. Fraud prevention alone cannot protect organizations from the full spectrum of threats, because determined insiders and agile schemes find ways around even well designed safeguards. Peng argues that durable antifraud programs require a […]

In the article “Are Intergroup Differences Between the Audit Committee and the Rest of the Board Associated with Monitoring Effectiveness?”, authors Marleen Willekens, Katelijne Langendijk, and Lieselot Vankerckhoven address an important question in corporate governance. They ask whether differences in background, expertise, and experience between the audit committee and the rest of the board of […]

Investigating the influence of auditors’ materiality threshold disclosures on employees’ decisions to report financial misconduct, the article The Unintended Consequences of Audit Materiality Disclosures on Whistleblowing Intentions by Mackenzie M. Festa, D. Kip Holderness, Jr., Megan M. Jones, and Richard A. Riley, Jr. highlights a critical organizational dynamic. Although these disclosures aim to improve transparency […]

A recent study by Joseph F. Brazel, Matthew Starliper, and Yao Yu explores the intricate dynamics of management communication styles when disclosing material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting (ICFR). The research, published in Accounting Horizons, highlights significant findings that question how communication approaches can impact investor perceptions and decisions. Under Section 404 of […]

In a recent article by Joseph F. Brazel, Matthew Starliper, and Yao Yu, published in Accounting Horizons, the authors investigate how management’s communication style when disclosing material weaknesses in internal control affects investor perceptions. Under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, management must disclose the effectiveness of their internal controls over financial reporting, but how […]

A recent study by Mohan Fonseka, Omar Al Farooque, Xing Yang, and Wu Qilin, published in the International Journal of Auditing, examines the impact of internal control quality and mandatory internal control disclosure regulations on executive perks in Chinese firms. Spanning a dataset from 2008 to 2019, the research delves into how these factors influence […]

The world of auditing is constantly evolving, and how audit firms and individual partners report key audit matters (KAMs) can significantly impact financial transparency. A recent study by Rousseau and Zehms, titled „It’s a Matter of Style: The Role of Audit Firms and Audit Partners in Key Audit Matter Reporting,“ published in Contemporary Accounting Research, […]

The accounting profession continually evolves, adapting to global talent dynamics and regulatory landscapes. A recent study by Frost, Jing, Shang, and Su, published in Contemporary Accounting Research, titled “Foreign Labor and Audit Quality: Evidence from Newly Hired H‐1B Visa Holders,” explores a particularly intriguing facet of this evolution: the influence of foreign labor on audit […]

A new study by Dain C. Donelson, Matthew Kubic, and Sara Toynbee, published in the Journal of Accounting and Economics, delves into the patterns of enforcement actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), uncovering a significant increase in activity in September each year. This phenomenon, termed the „September spike,“ suggests a potential inconsistency in […]

The audit profession, known for its demanding busy seasons, faces scrutiny not only for the impact of high workloads on audit quality but also on its appeal as a career choice. This is highlighted in a recent study by Marlies de Vries and Roland F. Speklé, published in Behavioral Research in Accounting, which examines how […]

In the dense, often opaque world of corporate financial disclosures, the use of infographics is becoming increasingly prevalent, transforming how companies communicate complex financial data. A study by Theodore E. Christensen, Karson E. Fronk, Joshua A. Lee, and Karen K. Nelson, featured in the Journal of Accounting and Economics, takes a comprehensive look at this […]